Unwelcomed Guests
by Illusion of Insanity
Summary: He didn't ask for this. All he wanted was to get some sleep. Instead, he gets his rival barging in to his little corner of the Dragon's Den, ranting about her boss and demanding to spend the night. Shame he had to nod and accidentally give her permission. But, when Lyra blabs about having a nightmare, Silver finds himself in an awkward situation.
1. Silver is Not a Good Host

Silver still didn't understand why she was here.

To be honest, he had thought that he was done with her for the day. After all, rivals battle each other and then leave. It's not just customary, it's almost like an unwritten rule. He frowned as he stared at her.

There she was, wrapped up in a pale blue blanket and using her Meganium's neck as some sort of pillow. Her usually-captive-but-now-freed brunette locks were spread so far, it was almost like they weren't attached to her head. To be perfectly honest, it was somewhat irritating that his privacy was thrown out the window.

Everything just happened in a blur. One second, he's changing out of his jacket and turning in for the night. The next thing he knew, she was barging in and spouting off about Lance once again. He didn't even have his shirt on yet, for Lugia's sake! He had to literally throw his jacket at her as a distraction and struggle into a different shirt before she noticed. Thankfully, that had given him enough time to change and look completely unfazed by this sudden entrance.

He still had no idea how becoming someone's rival signed you up for having them come barging in and crashing in _your_ cave without even an ounce of permission.

And to make matters worse, his own Pokémon were getting restless. Sneasel, the smart-mouthed, inconsiderate partner he was, had decided to take it upon himself to talk him through every little detail of sharing a space with a female. About halfway through, Silver had just covered his head with a pillow and groaned for him to shut up. But, the little rascal just kept on blabbing at him, completely ignoring his complaints.

The Pokémon that were currently resting in their Pokéballs were making a fuss, shaking about and going on and on about how they wanted to see her. It was not only irritating that his rival commonly babied his Pokémon, but now they were even getting excited with just the mention of her being around!

Lugia shoot him with an Hydro Pump, please.

"You are such a pest," Silver hissed through his pillow as the back of his head ached. Lying on rocks was starting to _really_ hurt his head. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

_"C'mon Silver!"_ Sneasel was right at his ear now, smiling as if he was about to receive some sort of treat. _"This is a wonderful opportunity! You can finally prove that your social skills are up to par! Imagine how happy she will be to see you being a kind and respectful host."_ The pause to draw a breath gave the redhead just enough time to roll his eyes and roll to his right as to turn away from this conversation.

_"She's basically right in your palm!"_

"Will you please just be quiet?" His voice was pretty much a whine, but he was too tired and annoyed to care at this moment. "All I wanted was to sleep. Instead, I get some girl waltzing in here and demanding to stay here."

_"Actually, you let her in here."_ The blasphemous statement earned a growl and a harsh toss of his shield as Sneasel just lifted a single claw. _"She said that she was tired of Lance and his standards, and you just nodded along."_ The redhead sat up with a cringe as he realized where this was going. _"The she asked to crash here so Lance wouldn't find her and you nodded at her!"_

It was technically true. Silver had been nodding pretty much the whole entire time she was ranting. After all, his dislike of the Dragon Master was still pretty lively after a few comments about being _'a disgrace to Pokémon Trainers everywhere'_. After that little speech, the redhead was certain that he would hate that guy for the rest of his life.

When she had asked to stay here, he'll be the first to admit that he had nodded at her. Only, this wasn't a nod of approval. No sir. This was best described as a nod of _'I'm about to fall asleep sitting up. I will agree just to shut you up for now and then I will deal with this in the morning'_ quality.

"Yeah, but I thought she was talking about staying at the Pokemon Center, or even at the shrine." That was a lie. "I never thought that she meant to stay right at my feet!" And yet another lie slipped off his tongue. Sneasel seemed to notice this, for he shot the Trainer a look of disdain.

_"Now Silver, you must be kind to your guests!"_ Out came the wagging claw that had been driving him crazy since infancy. Silver's eyes just narrowed with a mixed of irritation and exhaustion. _"Lyra Soul is not only your rival, but your friend. Even if you're super tired, you can at least show her some respect."_

"I am showing her respect." A furious blink and suddenly Sneasel seemed to be a black blur in a sea of blue. "As I give her all that space to herself, I'm showing her respect." A moan of frustration and a slamming of a paw into Sneasel's face reminded him of just how late at night it was.

_"Idiot!"_ A humph and a flick of the eyes certainly helped to silence the Sharp Claw Pokemon. _"Fine! If you won't be nice, I will!"_ And before the teen could do a single thing, Sneasel waltzed over to the slumbering Trainer and _nuzzled her cheek._

Warm horror rushed to his face as his Pokémon cooed and snuggled closer to the girl's side. The self-appointed guardian, Meganium, woke up with a start and looked around for any sign of the intruder. When he spotted Sneasel resting in the crook of the brunette's elbow, it was heck to pay.

"Gani!" A mighty roar—which was actually like a loud squeak—rumbled down up his throat, rising his Trainer into action. The girl was up in a matter of seconds, flailing her arms and roaring out in a dazed panic. Silver could only watch with amusement as the girl grabbed her belt and unclipped a Pokéball.

That amusement died when she released _her whole party_ into the small nook.

A Milotic, Skarmory, Mismagius, Togekiss and worst of all, Glaceon appeared in the room with their most powerful moves at the ready. Deciding quickly that playtime was officially over, Silver rushed to the center of the commotion and grabbed the girl by the shoulders.

Bad idea.

His rival, still in a half-awake trance, let out a scream that left his ears ringing. All six of her Pokémon took this as their cue, and launched their weapons. It was a disaster! A Surf attack made the water's near the shrine swell and crash into the red beams, drenching anything within the whole island. A Thunderbolt raced from the sky and startled all of the slumbering Zubat, causing the famous nuisances to flutter around with high-pitched screams. Air Slash nearly tore his hair off his head with such violent gales, while the launched Aura Sphere crashed into the walls and exploded somewhere in the south end of the cavern. Oh, and Lyra's Glaceon shot him in the leg with an Ice Beam.

He was certain that the last one was on purpose.

"Feeling better now?" He didn't even wince as the girl snapped her head up to look at her supposed attacker. "Because in all honesty, I think you woke up every living thing in this cave with that one." A faint blush of embarrassment covered her cheeks in a healthy shade of red.

"Sorry," She snapped her fingers and gave her Pokemon some sort of signal that looked like a flick of the wrist, a tap on her temple with her index finger and a bashful smile. Whatever that meant, her Pokémon plopped down in a sit—even the stinkin' Milotic—and gave her a nod. "I get a little jumpy at night."

"Yeah, I can tell." Sneasel had somehow managed to escape the friendly fire by hiding behind the girl who caused it, and just now decided to come out of hiding. "You were acting like you were dying or something."

An awkward laugh made a bit of regret rise in his stomach, but not much. Lyra gave him a sheepish smile before shaking her head. "Just a rough night, that's all." Silver raised an eyebrow as he found her hiking her shoulders up defensively.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarcasm, his well-oiled machine, was revving its engine at this moment. "You were the definition of calm. I've never seen someone so relaxed and centered."

"Very funny," A sharp glare—admittingly lacking the usual edge—proved that she wasn't completely distraught. "It was just a nightmare, genius." The second the words were out of her mouth, she jolted in horror. Silver may not be the most observant of social cues, but he was sure that her following gesture of covering her mouth and scolding herself under her breath meant that she hadn't meant to say that.

"What was that?" A smirk formed before he could stop it, and a hand raised to his ear to further the effect. He knew well what she had said, but he wanted to make sure that he wasn't just imaging this. He knew that making fun was the last thing she wanted at this point, but he had no idea what to do with this delicious tidbit other than his usual behavior. "Could you repeat that?"

The frustrated look on her face was something that he almost felt guilty about enjoying—almost. "I just..." She struggled to find the words as those sharp eyes seemed to stare right through her. "It's just that I.." An angry growl and a shake of the head proved that she was officially tongue-tied.

"I had a nightmare, alright?!"

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Mini-seriesfour-shot thing I'm writing for Tumblr._

_You're welcome._


	2. Lyra is Not as Fearless as he Thought

He knew it.

A slight warmth rose in his chest as he finally found _something_ that he could hold above her. All these years and battles, all of those times that she had been triumphant, he finally had a counter to become the one on top.

But why did the thought of taunting her make him feel so guilty?

"The great Lyra Soul, Champion of Johto, had a nightmare?" Silver raised an eyebrow as his rival just ran her hands through her hair with a groan of frustration. "I thought that such an elite Trainer was above such things."

"Yeah, yeah..." Lyra wasn't even trying to make a comeback, which was slightly worrisome. "I get it. I'm weak and pathetic and you think I'm the worst person you've ever met."

"That's not true!" Indignation did wonders for embarrassing a person. Silver turned his head with a hiss as he felt his cheeks warm up. "I-I never said any of that! It's just that you...you..." He struggled to get the words out as his rival shifted nervously. He _could_ be honest and say what he was thinking, but that would require sacrificing a substantial amount of pride.

If there was one thing Silver did not like, it was bruising his pride.

"Whatever," The sigh of defeat that slipped out was one that made his stomach churn. "I don't even feel like arguing with you over this." Those words made Silver's ears ring with warning.

Lyra Soul? The sassy, cocky, annoying and frankly tough rival that he's been following very carefully for the past few years just said that she didn't feel like arguing with him?! That was utterly unthinkable! He knew right then that pride or not, something was wrong.

"Lyra..." He found himself sitting next to the girl with a cringe of unease. The Glaceon who had been cleverly displaced let out a howl before running across his lap—claws out and digging in his pair of pants he reserved for sleeping—and jumping into his Trainer's embrace. "Is...er..."

_"C'mon!"_ The boy looked to his right to find his long-time partner giving him an encouraging wave of his claws. _"Ask her what's wrong! Remember, be a good host!"_ Rolling his eyes at the advice, he turned back to his rival.

He immediately wished he hadn't.

Lyra Soul's famous hazel eyes were fixed on him with a quiet curiosity that made guilt churn in his chest. At such a close proximity, he could clearly see the glimmer of whatever flame her vibrant browns held in their grasp.

"What?" Her voice was an audible pout at this point, which would have amused him had he been able to pull himself together. "Are you gonna make fun of me? Tell me that only babies have nightmares?" She turned her head away and the spell-binding lock was broken. Silver shook his head as the Glaceon that happened to be dangerously close to his throat watched him with eyes of suspicion.

"N-No." Somewhere in his mind, he was happy that he hadn't squeaked as well as stuttering his reply. However, he would take a strong finish. "I just..." Well, here goes his pride. "Wanted...to know if you wanted to talk about it."

As Lyra Soul turned around, Silver was certain that he had lost a good portion of his dignity.

"Wh-What did you say?" Her voice was a whisper, just as if she was a ghost. "You really mean it?" Her eyes were wide, only not with shock. No, her eyes were wide with hope, another thing that made discomfort rise in Silver's throat.

This was his chance. He could very easily say that it was all a joke and that she was a fool for thinking that a tough guy like him would actually want to 'talk' about something so trivial as a nightmare. However, his 'nanny'—known in some circles as his Sneasel—would never let him hear the end of this if he shoved her away now. So, he did what he had to do.

He went through with it.

"Y-Yeah," Gulping down his nervous stutter, he dug his feet into a nearby boulder and gave her a weak attempt at a prideful grin. "If you're going to be so weak as to have a nightmare, I might as well hear it. That way, I can have something to base my comebacks off of!" Wow, that probably earned him a good amount of 'jerk points', as Sneasel would say. He faintly heard a slamming of a paw that proved his thought.

She didn't care. She just gave him a playful shove and a nervous laugh. "Hey, I don't make fun of you and your fear of fire!" Silver eyes widened and pretty soon a growl of defense was heard all throughout the cave.

"You promised never to speak of that!" A quick laugh from his rival only made his cheeks burn that much more. A small apology followed that little laugh of hers, preventing Silver from forgetting the whole thing over such a terrible offense.

"Well, what was it about?" Narrowed eyes and an anxious wringing of his hands just made his rival stare at him and his bright cheeks that much more. "It must have been pretty bad to scare the Champion of Johto."

"W-Well," Her eyes fluttered to her sitting team of Pokémon before lifting back to her rival's face. He could tell by her nervous expression, tightly clenched palms and the Glaceon licking her chin that this was pretty serious. "Promise you won't tell?"

"What." A flat reply was pretty much all the redhead could come up with at this sort of question. What were they, ten-year-olds? Did she really have to ask him such a question?

"Promise me that you won't tell a single soul!" The flame in her eyes almost startled him, and would have if it weren't for the fact that he was quite familiar with it. "You have to swear it!"

"Fine," Just to prove his point, he stooped so low as to provide his pinky finger. "I won't tell anyone." The shimmer of thanks in her eyes made it somewhat less humiliating as the girl tugged their pinkies together.

"Alright," Her voice was slightly stronger with this quick declaration of confidentiality. "I guess that I can tell you..." She took a deep breath before pulling her knees closer to her chin. Her Glaceon, ensnared in a tangle of legs and overall straps, jumped out of the brunette's grasp with a roar.

"The truth is...I had a nightmare about Team Rocket."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Things are about to get fluffy.<em>


	3. Sometimes You Have to Sacrifice Pride—

That...was the last thing Silver expected her to say.

"Wh-What?" His voice was hardly a breath as he turned to give her a dumb stare. "You...had a nightmare about Team Rocket?" The blush on her cheeks and the holding of her shins was enough of a response for him. "But you're Lyra Soul! You've pounded those freaks out of Johto like they were nothing! How could they possibly scare _you_?"

"I get it!" The redhead was taken aback by a sudden outburst. Hot tears raced down her cheeks as she threw her knees aside and twisted her body to face him. "I'm supposed the be everyone's _stinking_ hero! Well, I'm not!" The breaking of her voice brought a hot wave of shame to his face. "I'm just not!"

"But you beat them." He was surprised at how calm he had managed to stay at this point. "Team Rocket's gone now." Even more surprising was the way that his arms shook with the strain of propping himself up, even when his rear was firmly planted in the hard rocks that composed the cavern floor. "There's nothing to worry about."

"You don't know that." Those hazel eyes, filled with flames of determination, wrath, affection and even hatred had suddenly become cold and distant. "They disappeared for three years and then returned. Archer escaped. I-I," Her lip quivered before she bit down hard on the soft skin. "I let him go."

"You didn't let him go." His mind could clearly see the two locked in arm-to-arm combat as they tumbled out of a broken observatory window. His small rival had her gentle hands at the man's throat as they fell to their doom. If it weren't for a quick grab of her overall straps on his part, things would have surely ended on a sour note.

How was she supposed to know that Archer had jet-shoes, something Team Rocket had been prototyping nearly three years ago?

"I should have grabbed him." He started fearing that she would make herself bleed with the harsh gnawing on her bottom lip. "I got them all, expect for the one that mattered."

He didn't understand it. He's never seen his rival break like this before. She's always been so strong, determined and undaunted. It was almost as if she was bulletproof. So, how did she just fall apart like this? The odd twist in his stomach and the whimpers of her Pokémon made him feel even worse.

"Hey," A hand grasped her shoulder before his mind had a chance to second-guess himself. The result was an instantaneous glance and wide eyes the color of chocolate. "You...you did great."

"Don't pity me," The sudden stealing of his own words nearly made him choke. "I don't need you to lie to me."

"I'm not lying." Silver's eyes narrowed as he gave his rival a firm squeeze on her captive shoulder. "I mean it. You've done far better than _I_ could ever _dream_ of achieving." The heat of her gaze made him rush his words, trying to blurt them out before he could regret it. "You've become the best Trainer in all of Johto, defeated the Champion of the Indigo Plateau, and even knocked some heads together." The slight smile at this last achievement was enough to block the guilt.

"Pfft," Tears still slipped over her cheeks, but he was hoping that these were not the hot tears of anger as before. "You're one crazy rival, you know that?" He tilted his head as Lyra went on, "You always strive to act better than me, but then you go and do things like this." The small laugh was enough to lower his guard. "But thanks."

"Tch," Purposely accenting his eyeroll, he gave her a sly grin. "I was just about to say the same about you."

He could tell by the sound of clicking claws that Sneasel was praising him for this display. But, he didn't need cheers from his Pokémon for this one. The smile on his rival's face was enough this time.

Although, he might have to ask for an Ice Heal for his blasted leg.

It was only heartbeats later that he became painfully aware of the lack of space between them. A quick cough over his shoulder was enough to jolt her away and give them both flushed cheeks. A unified apology followed suit, and the two rivals shared an awkward moment of silence.

"A-Are you cold up there?" Lyra slowly regained her voice as she sat up tall and wiped her cheeks. The redhead looked over to find her giving her Glaceon strokes of reassurance, presumably to ease his irritation/hatred of the flaming rival who had been so close to his Trainer.

"...No," A reluctant answer and the girl was already shooting him a small grin. "I mean, it's a tad damp, but I'm used to it for the most part."

The brunette seemed to pause for a moment, thinking over her words with care. Then, she took a deep breath and spoke words that made his ears burn. "You could move down here near Gani and I. It's warmer with more people, anyway."

He didn't even understand why, but he said yes.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: Followers of "Irritation" should recognize her dislikeanxiety over Team Rocket. However, this is the first time Archer has been mentioned for HeartGoldHeadcanon!, I believe. But, as you may infer by the mentions of _falling out the observatory window_ and the equally disturbing mention of _Lyra's hands being at his throat_, that this was not an orderly battle between two forces._

_And yes, jetpacks inside of your shoes is _really_ cool._


	4. To Reach a Certain Point of Trust

Silver was surprised to find that he had managed to stay in place during the night.

Sitting up and rubbing his sore neck, he expected to come face-to-face with Sneasel as usual. However, upon seeing the snarling Glaceon merely inches from his face, everything came rushing back to him.

He quickly snapped his attention to his right and found a familiar brunette scratching his Sharp Claw Pokémon a gentle scratch under the chin. The boy's beloved partner let out a few chirps of appreciation before noticing his Trainer's eyes. He then quickly dashed for the redhead's side, leaving the young Champion staring at her rival.

"Thank you." The words were out of her mouth before even so much as a greeting had been exchanged. Her scarred hand lifted to her loose hair, tucking some behind her ear. "I...I've been having a rough time lately and..."

"It's nothing." He decided to cut her off before he started getting embarrassed over helping her. "Just don't be so hard on yourself next time." He narrowed his eyes with a playful smirk and folded his arms. "It's downright irritating when your rival rambles on about how terrible they are."

A playful punch in the arm only showed him that she really was feeling better.

"I don't need you to be all smart with me, Silver." Lyra Soul slowly rose to her feet before calling her Glaceon over. It took a few heartbeats to realize that the girl was already packed and ready to leave, meaning he had slept far longer than intended. Silently cursing himself for doing so, Silver jumped to his feet.

"You're leaving?" He hated how those words came out, desperate and questioning. His rival didn't ignore this tone, either.

"Lance might start a manhunt if I don't show up soon." The bitterness behind the Dragon Master's name was enough to make a man cringe—if they actually cared about the man. "Besides that, Morty called me and asked for me to be the guest of honor at the Autumn Festival again, the Kimono Girls want to resize me for some ceremonial garb and my Mother wants me to stop by in New Bark Town for a visit."

Silver found himself blinking in confusion at the overload of tasks. People expected her to do this all in one day? No wonder she was getting all frustrated.

"Well," The awkwardness in his stomach just wouldn't disappear, no matter how hard he swallowed. "If you ever need a place to hide...there's always the Dragon's Den."

The warmth flooding Lyra's eyes was enough to make him blush, but he tried to ignore the chirps of praise his Sneasel was shooting his way. "Thank you," The hair behind her ears was now being wrestled into two familiar pigtails, signaling her transformation back into Johto's Sweetheart Champion. "I'll remember that whenever Lance decides to sit me through another five-hour meeting."

For a minute, neither of them spoke. They simply looked at each other with a smile. Their moment of peaceful silence was broken by the harsh buzzing of the brunette's Pokégear. The girl let out a low sigh before waving her rival goodbye and racing out of the cavern. Her Glaceon stuck around just long enough to stick his nose in the air and kick up stones in the redhead's general direction before scurrying to his Trainer.

Another moment of silence filled the cavern as the teen looked at the exit with something similar to longing. A quick tap on his leg snapped him out of it though, and he quickly looked down to the smirking Sneasel.

_"Would you look at that..." _Silver felt a stone crash in his stomach at the sly tone of voice his partner was currently using against him. _"Silver, the stubborn, most immature redhead in Johto actually being nice to a girl!" _The boy let out a grunt as his Pokémon continued, _"I never thought I would see the day!"_

"Oh, cut it out, Sneasel." The redhead turned back to the black duffel bag he had shoved in the corner and started thinking of places to train for the day. "I don't want to hear any comments from you about this thing." He slung the strap over his shoulder and shot the Sharp Claw Pokémon a glare. "As far as I'm concerned, this never happened. You are to act as such, got it?"

The small creature crinkled his nose and made a quick face of displeasure. Figures. How could he expect the boy to actually stay consistent in his behavior? He's been having mood swings since he crawled out of the cradle, so good luck getting that to happen as a teenager.

"Hey!" The Pokémon looked up to find his Trainer already walking out of the cave. Small feet scrambled to catch up to Silver's long strides as they headed out into the vibrant lights of the late morning. The redhead paused for a moment, seemingly looking around for something.

Sneasel saw this moment of hesitation as an opportunity to strike. _"Hey Silvy~!"_ The teenage Trainer looked down at his long-time companion and found the Sharp Claw Pokémon giving him a sly grin. _"Maybe I'll get lucky and see you actually have kids—"_

"Sneasel, if you say another word, I will take you back to that guy in Cinawood and leave you there!"

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: And that's the end of the fluffy little four-shot. I'm pretty happy that I managed to stay within four parts as planned, instead of turning this into something like "Irritation". As much as I loved working on that, staying with the goal is very important.<em>

_On a related note, I'm pretty sure we all agree that Sneasel is the best ever._


End file.
